Break
by serina-phantom
Summary: Slight AU. Johan Andersen is a warrior on a mission to return Judai's emotions after his "heart" is shattered into 12 pieces and sent to a place called Duel Academy. Will he do it? And what if one of the heart shards wants Judai dead? Spiritshipping
1. Prologue: Break My Heart

**Title**: Break

**Genre**: romance, humor

**Rating**: T for language, mild violence, and some sexual themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai; slight RyoXEdo; slight JimXKenzan; and very slight ManjoumeXShou

**Song**: "Break" by Three Days Grace

**Summary**: Johan is a young warrior who goes to Duel Academy, but the only reason he's there is to protect Judai! But Judai isn't your average duelist. He's the royal heir to the Dark World throne whose "heart" was removed by a demon and shattered into twelve different pieces! Can Johan, with the help of his and Judai's friends, collect all of the pieces of Judai's heart before the emotions hurt someone in Duel Academy? And can they defeat the single emotion that wants Judai dead?

Me: Okay! This is a sorta weird little story that we are trying to work with, so here we go!

Lucy: It's kinda medieval timey in the beginning, but it soon turns better when they go to Duel Academy in the next chapter. This one is just explaining how this all came to be!

Me: So please enjoy!

Lucy: Chapter start, miina!

**_Prologue: Break My Heart_**

In the Dark World, it was probably late Autumn, the opposite of the weather on Earth. The skies were naturally dark, as they were night and day. A small amount of clouds stretched across the skies and threatened to storm any moment. A young maid dashed down the hallway as quickly as her thin legs would carry her.

The hallway was decked out with red and gold curtains, red carpets, and candles shining the light down and lighting up what would have been total darkness otherwise, due to the naturally dark skies.

She, like all the other maids, was dressed in a red dress that came to her ankles, covering a pair of white tights and revealing a pair of black buckle shoes. Her long black hair was up in a red ribbon.

"Your Majesty!" she called.

Down the hall way, a good few ways from the young running maid, two young men were walking towards the throne room, talking amongst themselves, when the maid's voice caught their ears.

One of them turned towards her.

"Ah, Diana, what's up?" he asked. The young maid, Diana, slunk down and panted heavily from all the running. She glanced up at the young man standing before her.

He was tall, probably a few inches taller than her, and his hair was spiked and long in the front, short in the back. It was a deep brown color with two layers, the top layer a pale orange. His eyes were very kind, shining a pale brown. The young man was dressed in a red top with bronze designs on it, and he was dressed in royal garments. On his head sat a golden circlet that seemed sloppily placed on his head, almost falling off.

The young man's smile was one of pure kindness and innocence, holding no form of evil or any malicious thoughts. He was like an innocent child who had never done anything wrong.

"You... huff... Your Majesty, do not go outside!" Diana shouted.

The young man standing next to the man known as "Your Majesty" took a protective step in front of the young noble. His hand was instantly to the sword at his hip.

"Why?" he asked. "What's out there?"

The young man near "His Majesty" was slightly taller than the brunette, but they looked somewhat similar. This other young man, however, had spiked teal hair that frame around his face, and bright emerald green eyes. The young man was dressed like a soldier, with a long cape clasped before him. He was dressed in a blue blazer with a black shirt under it, and a pair of black pants.

Diana turned to the teal-haired man.

"Oh, Johan, it's a demon with the Sword of A Thousand Hearts," she said.

The teal-haired young knight, Johan Andersen, gasped and sheathed his sword slightly. He turned towards the young royal who stood at his side, blinking with innocence.

Johan grasped the young man by the shoulders. "Judai, you must promise me something!" the bluenette said to the young man. The young seventeen year-old prince, Judai, nodded.

"Sure, Johan. What is it?" he asked, blinking innocently.

"Promise me..." Johan whispered. "Promise me that whatever happens, you will not come outside until that demon is gone. Promise me!" he told the brunette noble.

Judai stared at Johan in silence, as if he were about to refuse to do as the bluenette said. He sighed softly and nodded, giving up on his thoughts of rebelling against the knight.

Johan sighed in relief, as if a weight had been lifted off him.

"Thank you, Judai. You don't know what I would do if I let anything happen to you," he whispered softly.

Judai grinned at the knight. "Oh, come on, Johan! Nothing bad has ever happened to me before!" he assured the bluenette. Johan stared at the boy in silence, giving a brief nod, and then turning to Diana.

"Where is Jim and O'Brien?" he asked.

Diana pointed towards the door. "They're fighting that demon, trying to get the sword away from him."

"Right!" Johan took a dash towards the door to the outside. "Judai," he called over his shoulder. "Judai, make sure that you stay inside no matter what happens, all right?"

Judai nodded and waved slowly as Johan went dashing off to fight. Diana took Judai's wrist. "Come along, Your Majesty. We can watch the fight from the safety of the tower, all right?" she asked. Judai nodded and allowed himself to be led up to the tower at the peak of the castle, where they could watch the battle without being in any danger of getting harmed.

**Tonight my head is spinning  
I need something to pick me up  
I've tried but nothing is working  
I won't stop, I won't say I've had enough**

**Tonight I start the fire  
Tonight I break away**

When they finally reached the top of the tower, the fight had already been commencing for a few solid hours. Now, it wasn't a far walk up the tower, but it did take just a little bit of time.

The stairs to the tower were old and cracked, and if one stepped on them too fast, too hard, or in the wrong place, one would break it and probably fall, which was why nobles and servants were very cautious and slow in their movements up large flights of stairs. Diana led the way up the stairs in case something came and hurt the prince.

Diana opened the door when they managed to reach it, which swung open with a creak, and allowed Judai in before she let herself in. Judai made his way across the floor to the stone window, where he peered down and spotted Johan, as well as two other teen warriors (Jim and O'Brien), attacking a tall ogre.

The demon was tall and muscular, to the point where veins were showing on each of his pink muscles. His eyes were a bright crimson, and pale pink spikes tore up from his back.

"Diana..." Judai said quietly.

"Yes, Your Majetsy?" the young maid asked.

"Do you think they can defeat this demon? And what is the Sword of a Thousand Hearts?" Judai asked, glancing all over the demon to see if he could spot the sword.

But while the demon had many spikes on his body, he held no sword in his hands, or anywhere else on his body. Judai wondered if the sword was just a figure of speech, when he noticed Johan rushing the beast.

Judai couldn't help but blush.

He had always felt slightly strange around Johan, but it was a feeling that he liked. He felt safe around Johan. He felt like Johan could be the man that he wanted to share his life with. Homosexual relationships, especially amongst nobles, were widely accepted in the Dark World. And even though Johan was not a noble, technically, he was a warrior, a knight.

Knights and nobles were allowed to get married. Judai had always loved that thought, ever since Johan came to be his warrior. Judai remembered Johan being very shy and quiet. Johan had admitted that he thought Judai would be a stuck-up brat who would treat him like crap, but when he saw the boy's smile, that fear was instantly washed away. Judai and Johan had been close after that, and Johan would do anything for Judai. He even told the boy he would do anything for him even if he wasn't Judai's warrior.

Judai stopped his thoughts when he noticed Johan rushing the demon. The demon's claws slashed down at the bluenette, and Johan mostly dodged it, but the claws managed to clip his shoulder.

From where Judai stood, it looked like the wound was much worse than it actually was. The brunette covered his mouth with his hands and let out a silent scream.

"Johan!" he called. He turned on his heel and rushed to the stairs, pushing past Diana.

Diana whirled around in shock. "Your Majesty! It's too dangerous!!" she cried, reaching after the prince as he bounded down the stairs. She knew she couldn't catch up to the brunette no matter what she did.

**Break! Away from everybody  
Break! Away from everything  
If you can't stand the way this place is  
Take! Yourself! To higher places!**

**At night I feel like a vampire  
It's not right but I just can't give it up  
I'll try to get myself higher  
Let's go! We're gonna light it up**

Judai panted as he rushed down the hallway. He managed to keep from tripping, though he was clumsily crashing through the halls, knocking over a few servants who came in his direction.

When he reached the outside, he saw Johan standing before the pink demon. It reminded Judai of the beast in a poem that he had read when he was a child. A poem from a fairy-tale from Earth called "_Alice in Wonderland_". The poem was the Jabberwocky, a poem about a hideous beast that was slain by a young man from Wonderland.

"Johan!" Judai called, cupping his hands around his mouth.

The bluenette glanced over in horror at the sound of the brunette's voice. He shouted Judai's name, as well as a question, but the call was drowned out by the roaring of the massive creature standing merely feet in front of him. Judai imagined that the question was probably "What are you doing here?" or something different.

Judai glanced up and saw the creature draw what looked like a massive spike from behind its back. After taking a moment to eyeball it, Judai realized that it was not a spike, but a long sword.

The sword was a bright white color, and it was long. The handle was a dark navy, almost black, and it sported a heart shape in front of it. It glittered in the non-existent sunlight, and sent a malicious feeling. The demon clutched it in his massive claws, since its hands were too big to clutch the sword.

The demon aimed it towards Judai and hurled it forward.

"Judai, run!"

Judai could hear Johan's voice, but he couldn't move. The sword came flying at him with the speed of an arrow, and before he knew it, the sword had slammed through his chest and cut into his heart.

Judai couldn't feel any pain. The sword had pierced through him, and yet, there was no blood. The brunette could see what appeared to be a bright light emitting from where his heart was, where the sword had hit. He felt his eyelids slither closed, and then he collapsed to the ground, the sword falling from his chest and landing beside him, no wound visible in his chest.

Johan couldn't speak. He felt cold, and he almost forgot the pain in his shoulder from the wound. He couldn't see anything except for Judai laying on the ground, the Sword of a Thousand Hearts laying right beside him.

From where he was, Johan believed that Judai was dead.

The bluenette drew his sword and aimed it at the demon. The demon gargled and peered through ruby red eyes down at the small bluenette. Jim, one of the warriors, glanced over with his one visible eye (the other was covered by a bandage).

"Johan!" he called, his voice thick with an Austrailian accent. "Don't let your anger take you over!!"

Jim feared that Johan wasn't going to hear him. The bluenette stepped forward, turned the tip of the sword towards the demon's heart, and went rushing for him with a loud roar of anger.

The demon tried to dodge the sword, but he couldn't manage it. The sword slammed into his chest, right above his heart. Johan twisted the sword and dragged it back, the blade coated in thick black blood. Johan turned the blade and plunged it forward again, a bit downward, and stabbed right into the demon's heart.

This repeated over and over again, until the demon crumpled to his knees.

The massive carcass rocked the ground once it hit, groaning and laying in the puddle of blood. The thick blood seemed to filter around Johan's boots, soaking his soles with the nasty smelling liquid.

Johan dropped his sword to the ground and rushed to Judai. The brunette still hadn't moved from his place on the ground. Johan could see him breathing, slightly, and it gave him hope.

The bluenette warrior dropped beside his prince and lifted him into his arms. Judai seemed so thin now. Johan laid his head down on the prince's chest and closed his eyes. He was use to doing this whenever Judai was sleeping. He would always enjoy hearing the brunette's heart fluttering between his ribcage. It reminded him that the brunette was such a lovely example of life. It also made Johan blush, for he would never admit his feelings.

Johan's eyes widened in horror. He drew away from Judai almost instantly and peered down at him. He heard Jim call out "what's wrong", but Johan couldn't answer right away. He looked to Jim and shivered.

"I-I can't hear his heart beating!" he cried out.

Jim and O'Brien gaped at each other, and went rushing to the prince's side, forgetting all about the bleeding demon carcass that was now rotting beside Johan's sword.

**Tonight we start the fire  
Tonight we break away**

**Break! Away from everybody  
Break! Away from everything  
If you can't stand the way this place is  
Take! Yourself! To higher places!**

The Council of Nobles in the Dark World sat around the center area, where Johan was on his knees, holding Judai's body in his arms. The brunette was still very much alive, but his heart was gone.

One of the nobles, Judai's father, pushed himself to his feet. He was an old man with dark silver hair that snaked to his shoulders, and his eyes were a thick brown-blue color. He wore a crown similar to Judai's, only it was more elaborate. He wore long red robes, and he looked exactly like a king.

"Johan Andersen," the kind state. Johan glanced towards the king and he frowned. "I regret to say that there is nothing here in our world that we can do to save my precious son."

Jim stepped up.

"But, if we collect his heart pieces, then we should be able to rescue him, right? He'll return to normal when they are all back!" the Aussie said. He looked up at the king's blank expression. He knew that the king seemed upset with something, and Jim knew that it was because his son had lost his heart, and that meant his emotions.

Johan glanced down and brushed Judai's long, lovely brown hair out of his face. The prince whimpered softly in his sleep, but it was around this time that Johan noticed that the prince had no emotion on his face. It made him depressed, seeing the boy he secretly loved in such a state. He knew that he had to help Judai, in any way he could.

One of the other nobles rose to her feet.

"His heart pieces have been scattered all on one island on Earth, where there resides a school called Duel Academy," she said, her voice crackly with old age. She nodded to Johan. "And I believe that you will be able to find all of them and give His Majesty's his emotions back by enrolling yourselves in that school."

"I agree," the king noted. He turned towards Johan and the other warriors. "Jim, you and O'Brien shall enroll yourselves and go assist Johan in his little quest to return my son to normal."

Jim nodded.

"Agreed," he noted.

"Hold up a minute," O'Brien chimed in. He folded his armored arms across his chest. "This seems like an easy enough job. Why does Johan need us to go along with him?"

The king turned towards O'Brien. "The emotions, the shards of my son's heart, will try and attack. They will become self aware, and will want their freedom. Some might go with convincing, and some others might go of their own will. But most will take force," he explained. O'Brien seemed to understand and nodded, backing down.

Johan nodded and turned towards the king.

"Your Highness, I will save Judai, even if it costs me my life," he said. The king said his thanks to the warrior, and quickly went to work trying to make a spell that would send them to Duel Academy. Johan looked down at Judai and smiled softly, reaching down and stroking the brunette's cheek happily. He closed his eyes and thought about his goal: Getting Judai's heart back and confessing that he loved him.

**If you can't stand the way this place is  
Take! Yourself! To higher places!  
Break! Away from everybody  
Break! Away from everything  
If you can't stand the way this place is  
Take! Yourself! To higher places!  
Higher places!  
To higher places!  
Higher places!  
Take yourself to higher places!**

----

Me: Okay! There was chapter one! Judai has already had his heart shattered, and when he awakens, he will be at Duel Academy! The next chapter is a little time skip!

Lucy: Will Johan be able to save Judai and return his heart to him?

Me: Please review and we shall update as soon as we can! Please no flaming!


	2. Wrath Part I

**Title**: Break

**Genre**: romance, humor

**Rating**: T for language, mild violence, and some sexual themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai; slight RyoXEdo; slight JimXKenzan; and very slight ManjoumeXShou

**Song**: "Break" by Three Days Grace

**Summary**: Johan is a young warrior who goes to Duel Academy, but the only reason he's there is to protect Judai! But Judai isn't your average duelist. He's the royal heir to the Dark World throne whose "heart" was removed by a demon and shattered into twelve different pieces! Can Johan, with the help of his and Judai's friends, collect all of the pieces of Judai's heart before the emotions hurt someone in Duel Academy? And can they defeat the single emotion that wants Judai dead?

Me: The first chapter is up and running, guys!

Lucy: This is the time skip, and they are now in Duel Academy. It has been a few weeks since they arrived at Duel Academy, and still no signs of any emotions/pieces of Judai's heart!

Me: Please enjoy this, guys!

**_Chapter One: Wrath Part I_**

Several months later, on Duel Academy Island, our beloved bluenette hero stalked around the front of the island, waving his shard tracker back and forth in front of him.

He, Judai, Jim, and O'Brien had been enrolled in the Academy for at least three months, and so far, nothing had appeared. Judai had woken up shortly after they arrived at Duel Academy, and it took Johan a short while to explain everything to Judai.

Sadly for Johan, he knew that Judai had lost his emotions. It wasn't like Judai had lost his memories, but he couldn't comprehend them, and it was just as good as losing memories. Judai knew where he had come from, and how he knew Johan, but he couldn't comprehend feelings. He was emotionless, blankly smiling sometimes, but there was no feeling behind it.

Johan heaved a massive sigh and threw himself down on a tree stump. He put the shard tracker back in his pocket. It was a small charm that beeped rapidly whenever there was a heart shard around. Johan had been searching for hours, but nothing came up.

"This is hopeless," he muttered to himself in despair.

Johan looked down and noticed the clothes he was wearing. They had given him a North Academy Obelisk outfit when he arrived. Johan was not quite sure why, but he went along with it. The head of the school knew why they were here, but none of the other students seemed to know about who and what they really were.

Jim and O'Brien were also given different uniforms. Jim's resembled a cowboy's, while O'Brien didn't really wear a uniform. He basically got free range of whatever he wanted to wear. Judai, on the other hand, was given a Duel Academy outfit, an Osiris one. It was bright red and stood out in a crowd very easily.

Johan shifted and reached for his pocket, sighing when he realized that he couldn't feel his sword right at his hip. It made him a little nervous. He was so use to carrying his sword that being without it worried him. What if he needed it for a fight?

_No, _Johan thought. _This is a different world. The only monsters here are card spirits and holograms when dueling. Nothing major happens here like they do in the Dark World._

The bluenette rested his head in his hands. He needed a break.

He had been searching non-stop for those damn heart shards, and he hadn't found them yet. The island they were on seemed small enough, and yet Johan hadn't caught sight of them for at least three months. Not even the heart shard tracker knew where they were!

A rustling in the nearby bushes brought Johan out of his state of self-pity.

He looked up and spotted Jim walking towards him. Jim fixed the cowboy hat on his head and nodded to the bluenette warrior. Johan stared up into the Aussie's visible teal eye.

"What's up, Jim?" he asked.

"You seemed depressed, mate," Jim noted, matter-of-factly. He folded his arms across his chest. "That's not quite like you, you know."

Johan nodded. "Yeah, I know," he murmured. He folded his arms over his legs and laid his head down on top of them. Jim fell silent, and they both just stood there in the clearing, listening to the wind rustle the trees.

After a moment, Johan spoke up. "Have you seen Judai around?"

Jim focused and nodded. "Yeah, he's practicing his dueling before the big test on Monday. He's over at the Obelisk dorm yard," the Aussie said, pointing towards the direction of the Obelisk dorms.

"Thanks!" Johan leaped to his feet and rushed past the Aussie. Jim sighed and muttered to himself, but this went unnoticed by Johan. The bluenette just kept running, in search of his prince.

**Tonight my head is spinning  
I need something to pick me up  
I've tried but nothing is working  
I won't stop, I won't say I've had enough**

**Tonight I start the fire  
Tonight I break away**

"Judai!" Johan cupped his hands around his mouth and called. He had gone to the Obelisk dorms and looked, but Judai wasn't there. Johan decided to look around in case Judai had wandered off.

Even though Judai was considered an Osiris, wearing the red jacket and all, he was allowed to share a dorm room with Johan in the Obelisk dorms. Johan had insisted when they arrived, explaining to the principal, Samejima, that if he were to leave Judai alone, Lord knows what the brunette would do in his current state.

Johan looked up and spotted a small clearing. It was near the Osiris dorms, and it sported a giant fountain. The water was bubbling from the two dragon mouths that made up the fountain, and around it, Johan saw a few shimmering circles in the water.

The fountain was sometimes used as a wishing well by the students in the Academy. They would flick a coin into the water, and then they would hope that their wish came true. Most of them probably wished to become the best duelist in the whole world, but none of them had their dream achieved just yet if that was the case.

It was around this time that Johan noticed Judai.

Instead of dueling, Judai was dancing around the fountain gracefully, something that Johan hadn't seen him do in a long time.

When the prince was younger, the king would often make him take dancing lessons, which involved everything from ballet to break-dancing. Judai was currently dancing around the fountain in what appeared to be a ballet type dance, but the brunette didn't seem to be having as much fun with it as he usually did.

Judai was graceful and beautiful to watch whenever he danced, and without his emotions, he seemed almost like an angel. He kept himself steady, and didn't dance out of step. His hair didn't seem to be messed up, and his eyes were closed, which was why he didn't notice Johan right off. He was still wearing his Osiris uniform, but somehow, the colors just added to the gracefulness of his dance. Even with his eyes closed, he didn't seem to hit anything or trip.

Though Johan would never openly admit it, he would have given anything to dance with Judai. He secretly loved the prince, but he would never admit his feelings to Judai when the boy was in such a state. Johan just stood still and watched the boy dance.

When Judai finished dancing about a few minutes later, Johan decided to make himself known.

"That was very beautiful, Judai," Johan said, taking a step forward. He clapped slowly to show the brunette that he meant it.

Judai opened his eyes and looked over to Johan with a fairly simple expression. Johan knew that if he had his emotions, Judai would have been surprised, since he was not aware of the bluenette's presence. The brunette let his arms dangle to his sides.

"Johan," the brunette said. It was neither a question nor a normal greeting. But for Johan, it was good enough. The bluenette secretly hurt hearing Judai's voice spoken with barely any emotion.

Johan walked towards Judai. "What were you doing, Judai? Why weren't you practicing your dueling?" he asked. Judai turned towards him and gave him a blank expression.

"I was dueling, but then I got the urge to dance, and so I did. I can't really explain it more than that," Judai gave a small nod. "Please forgive me, Johan, for not being able to fully explain myself."

Johan frowned and reached forward. He placed his hand on Judai's head and pet it the way an adult would do for a small child who had just learned something.

"For you, Judai, that's all right," Johan said.

Judai gave Johan a small smile, but Johan knew it didn't mean anything. It broke his heart, but he knew that when Judai gained his heart back, he would be the old Judai that Johan loved. And that was reason enough to put up with the secret heart break and keep searching for the heart shards on the island.

"Come on," Johan said. "Let's head back to the dorms and get studying for the test."

"Right," Judai nodded.

The bluenette turned and started leading his way towards the dorms. Judai started to follow, but after just a few short steps, the brunette prince crumpled to his knees with a thud.

Johan whirled around and saw Judai sitting on his knees, slumped over as if he were in pain, or exhausted. This instantly worried the bluenette. He turned and rushed to Judai's side.

"Judai!" Johan reached forward and touched the boy's shoulder. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

Judai looked up into Johan's eyes and then looked down at his legs. He didn't hold any emotion, so Johan could not tell if he was in pain or not, since the boy couldn't show any of that.

"I... can't move my legs," Judai murmured.

Johan sighed in relief and reached for the boy's arms. "That's just because you're tired. You were dancing too much, Judai. Come on," he said. He scooped his arms under Judai's legs and under his upper back and lifted him into his arms.

Johan frowned slightly when Judai didn't blush. Usually, whenever Johan brought Judai into his arms, the brunette would squeak, turn bright red, and then started flailing, saying that he didn't need for the bluenette to carrying him. Johan would just laugh in retaliation, and carry the brunette that he secretly loved to their destination.

Judai just settled in Johan's arms and clung close to him. He stared ahead with a fairly blank face, his heart as empty as they came. He knew that he felt something for Johan, but he didn't know what it was. He couldn't comprehend those emotions. He couldn't feel, or understand, them just yet.

"Let's go back to the dorms," Johan said.

Judai just nodded slowly and said nothing the rest of the way. He couldn't even see how much it was breaking Johan's heart to see him in such a heartless, emotionless state.

**Break! Away from everybody  
Break! Away from everything  
If you can't stand the way this place is  
Take! Yourself! To higher places!**

**At night I feel like a vampire  
It's not right but I just can't give it up  
I'll try to get myself higher  
Let's go! We're gonna light it up**

"There we go," Johan whispered lovingly. He placed the brunette prince on his bed in the Obelisk dorms, and then backed up, folding his arms carefully across his chest.

The dorm itself was fairly plain, the walls either blue or white. There was a small kitchen in the dorm, tiled with blue and white tiles. It had a small fridge, and it had a stove for cooking. There was a bathroom with a bathtub/shower, a toilet, a sink, and a mirror. In the bedroom section was a large dresser, a television, a computer, a desk, and two beds.

In between the two beds was a nightstand with a blue lamp on it. One of the beds was near the window, the other near the bathroom. Johan slept on the one near the window, while Judai slept on the one closest to the bathroom.

Judai settled onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Johan smiled at sat on the edge of the bed. His hand reached forward, and he brushed his fingers against the boy's soft cheek.

"Just go to sleep, Judai," he whispered. "You need all the rest you can get. We'll continue dueling tomorrow, since it's the weekend and we have no classes."

Judai glanced over. "But what about today's classes? We have a class at 3:00, remember?" the brunette noted. Johan nodded and reached forward, brushing some of the boy's hair out of his face. He helped the boy remove his jacket and his shoes, placing them near the coat rack at the front of the room.

"I know," Johan said. "I'll just say that you were exhausted and needed rest. It's not technically a lie."

"Okay," Judai said with a vacant nod. He laid down on the bed and let Johan pull the blankets up over him. Johan made sure that the boy was settled before turning to the door.

"I'll be back after classes end, okay?" the bluenette called. He saw Judai nod, and within minutes, Judai's soft breaths let Johan know that the brunette had fallen asleep. Johan also knew that Judai would not awaken until Johan came and woke him up.

It was always the same. Judai would never do anything that Johan didn't tell him to do, since he was aware of his condition. Judai would do what Johan told him was safe to do, since he knew that he could get into trouble without his emotions. Or if he was alone, he was usually doing the same thing: practicing his dueling.

Johan frowned and placed his fingers against the brunette's throat. He hoped to feel a pulse, and was sad when he couldn't feel the fluttering of the boy's heart. He knew Judai was alive, because he breathed, but Johan wished to hear the loving _**thump **_of Judai's heart.

The bluenette turned to the door and walked out, hoping to regroup with Jim and O'Brien before their afternoon classes started. He closed the door behind him, leaving Judai alone in the dorm room to sleep.

**Tonight we start the fire  
Tonight we break away**

**Break! Away from everybody  
Break! Away from everything  
If you can't stand the way this place is  
Take! Yourself! To higher places!**

Johan sighed as he dropped himself into his seat. Jim took his place on the right side of the bluenette, and O'Brien took his place on Johan's left. They were in the fourth row from the bottom, where the teacher stood to give his lesson.

The teacher for this class was Professor Cronos, and though he was an asshole most of the time, he actually knew a bit about dueling, and was a good teacher for it.

Jim leaned over and placed his hand on the bluenette's shoulder. He knew that Johan was suffering this probably more than Judai was. Judai could not feel upset, since he did not now the emotion "_sorrow_" just yet. Johan could feel all the sorrow of his emotions, and because of that, he must have been suffering much worse than the prince.

"It'll be all right, Johan," Jim told the bluenette. "We shall find His Majesty's heart shards and return them to him. And the moment we do, we can return home, and everything will be normal."

"Y-yeah," Johan said.

He closed his eyes for a moment to think. Judai was still the same Judai, in a way, but he seemed more mature. The childish behavior that he had, the one that made Johan fall in love with him, was practically gone. Johan knew that if he gave Judai back all of his heart, then everything would be fine in the end.

"Get out of my way-!!"

Johan's eyes opened wide. He glanced over his shoulder and saw a student storm through the door and stomp down the stairs, towards the sixth row, where his seat was.

The student had silver-grey hair that was somewhat long and came to his shoulders. His eyes were a bright blue, narrowing into a glare. Unlike all the other students, he wore a bright white suit with a black shirt underneath. Around his neck was a white-purple tie. His fists were clenched, as were his teeth, as he stormed into his seat. Everyone near him seemed to back off, to avoid getting in his way.

"Geez," O'Brien muttered. "Who shoved a stick up Edo Phoenix's ass?"

"Dunno, mate," Jim noted. He looked towards the pissed off student a few rows up with a sigh. "He's never acted like this before. He's usually so nice to everyone. Maybe something bad happened to him earlier?"

Before Johan could make any comment, a strange noise caught his ear.

**_Pi-ong!_**

Johan's emerald eyes widened at the noise. He had heard it once before when the tracker had been tested, but he hadn't heard it since. It was quiet, so that no one else around them could hear it well.

Johan reached into his pocket and yanked out the charm. He raised the heart shard tracker up and moved it around slightly, trying to see where the pinging noise seemed to move towards.

He shifted it to the side.

**_Pi-ong!_**

Johan turned it to the other side, but it gave a single ping, took a five second break, and then pinged once again. It did this over and over again, not going very fast. That meant that the shard wasn't in those directions.

Johan then turned it towards the sixth row, where Edo was sitting, seething silently.

**_Pi-ong! _****_Pi-ong! _****_Pi-ong! _****_Pi-ong!_**

Johan's eyes widened as the charm-shaped tracker started pinging on and off each second, rapidly. Johan looked at the charm and noticed that it was glowing a bright purple color.

The bluenette glanced up and noticed a faint purple glow around Edo's body, like an aura. It must have been because of the tracker, because no one else could see it. The warrior's eyes widened slightly larger, if that was possible.

He knew that Judai's heart shards were capable of becoming self aware, and most of them probably had. Johan also knew that the heart shards could appear and disappear at the same time. But what Johan had been the most afraid of was what Judai's heart shards could do to the human beings in Duel Academy.

The heart shards could possess people at will.

When a person was possessed by a heart shard, they ultimately gained the emotion they were possessed by. The person still had free will, but the emotion would overrun them. It would consume them and it would be all they could show. The heart shard could leave as it pleased, or it could stay with the person until it chose, or until it was taken away by warriors such as Johan, Jim, and O'Brien.

A horrifying thought passed through Johan's mind.

_Is it possible that Edo is possessed by one of Judai's heart shards!?_

**If you can't stand the way this place is  
Take! Yourself! To higher places!  
Break! Away from everybody  
Break! Away from everything  
If you can't stand the way this place is  
Take! Yourself! To higher places!  
Higher places!  
To higher places!  
Higher places!  
Take yourself to higher places!**

----

Me: Okay! Edo might be possessed by one of the heart shards!

Lucy: Will Johan manage to get it from him?

Me: Please review nicely, and we shall update as soon as we are able to, guys! Please no flaming, as we would like to keep writing this story that so many people have voted on!

Lucy: Oh! And for anyone who doesn't know, we have taken another poll, and are taking votes! So please vote if you have not already done so, please everyone! Thank you all for your support!


	3. Wrath Part II

**Title**: Break

**Genre**: romance, humor

**Rating**: T for language, mild violence, and some sexual themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai; slight RyoXEdo; slight JimXKenzan; and very slight ManjoumeXShou

**Song**: "Break" by Three Days Grace

**Summary**: Johan is a young warrior who goes to Duel Academy, but the only reason he's there is to protect Judai! But Judai isn't your average duelist. He's the royal heir to the Dark World throne whose "heart" was removed by a demon and shattered into twelve different pieces! Can Johan, with the help of his and Judai's friends, collect all of the pieces of Judai's heart before the emotions hurt someone in Duel Academy? And can they defeat the single emotion that wants Judai dead?

Me: Okay, guys! We thank you all for being here to enjoy the second (technically third) chapter in "_Break_"! We would like to thank all of you who voted on the poll as well! It just helps assist us in the creation of stories!

Lucy: Now, in the previous chapter, we learned that Edo might be possessed by one of Judai's heart shards! Will Johan manage to get it back and return it to Judai?

Me: Please read on to find out!

**_Chapter Two: Wrath Part II_**

Johan found himself pacing back and forth around dinner time. He had decided to skip it and just cook himself something in the dorm room later that evening. That was what he usually ended up doing whenever Judai went to sleep early in the day. Johan would make them something to eat in the dorm room.

_What do I do? Edo's been possessed by one of the heart shards_,the bluenette thought. He paced around the outside of the Obelisk dorms, where he, Jim, and O'Brien were currently having a little "bull session".

Night had fallen a short while ago, and it was now dark out. Most of the students were in the cafeteria, so there was no one around to hear what the Dark Worlders were talking about.

When he finished pacing, Johan turned to Jim and O'Brien.

"Well? What should we do? We can't just walk up and tell the emotion to leave," Johan said. "With Edo in this condition, he might try and kill all of us for ticking him off." Johan shivered at the very idea of Edo Phoenix trying to kill him for something like that. It was a thought that he was glad was just that, and not a reality.

Jim tapped his chin in thought. He had been thinking of ways to get the emotion out of Edo without Edo finding out their secret or going berserk on them and hurting them.

"I dunno, mate," Jim admitted. "Edo seems really far into his possession. The emotion must have taken his heart over, and now, all he can feel is angry towards people."

"You think the emotion is anger?" O'Brien asked.

Johan shook his head. "No. I know for a fact that Anger is red, and the shard tracker shows that the color is a deep purple. So, it can't be anger, but it is something close," he pointed out.

O'Brien nodded, but said nothing else. The three of them just seemed to be locked in a state of silence. All of them were thinking hard about what they were going to do. They knew that this might happen, but none of them were prepared for it to happen. Johan looked down at the ground and pursed his lips together.

Jim looked up at the bluenette, the only one standing up.

"Johan," he called. The bluenette turned his attention to the Aussie warrior. "Maybe you should forget about all of this Edo stuff right now and go check on Judai. He must be awake about now."

"Right," Johan nodded.

He turned his attention away from the two warriors and headed for the door. He heard Jim and O'Brien talking, but he knew that they would not do anything without telling him first. They couldn't risk blowing their cover and letting everyone know about Judai lacking a heart. Johan pushed the dorm doors open and headed for the stairs to his and Judai's room.

**Tonight my head is spinning  
I need something to pick me up  
I've tried but nothing is working  
I won't stop, I won't say I've had enough**

**Tonight I start the fire  
Tonight I break away**

When Johan opened the door, he was shocked at what he saw.

Judai was sitting on the window ledge, dressed in the exact way that Johan had left him, but Johan noticed some books scattered all over the bed, his bed. The brunette didn't seem to notice Johan coming into the room. He was just staring out the window, a hard cover book with the words "Romeo & Juliet" across the cover.

"Judai?" Johan called carefully, as to not startle the boy. It then occurred to him that he couldn't possibly scare Judai, since Judai didn't have the emotion "Fear" in his body just yet.

Judai looked over his shoulder and locked eyes with the bluenette. "Johan," he said with a vacant nod. Johan frowned and tried to ignore the pain in his heart.

Judai closed the book and placed it on Johan's pillow. He swung his legs over the edge and made his way towards Johan. Johan noticed that Judai looked well rested, thought Judai didn't know what feeling tired was, since he did not own those emotions. The brunette soon stood before Johan, their eyes locked.

"How was class?" Judai asked.

"Fine. It was fine. Class was just fine, Judai," Johan said, rather quickly, laughing nervously. He hesitated and wondered if he should tell Judai about finding one of his heart shards.

The bluenette sighed and realized that he was better off telling the brunette about it. He knew that Judai would want to know about his heart shards and where they were located. Johan sighed and looked to Judai, who was fixing the mess of books that he had scattered all over Johan's bed. Johan noticed that they were all romance novels, and it hurt him to know that Judai felt nothing after feeling that.

"I... found one of your heart shards," Johan said.

He noticed that Judai immediately stopped organizing the books. The brunette set them down, straightened up, and turned towards the bluenette very slowly.

Johan frowned when he saw the vacant expression on Judai's face. He could see a slight look in Judai's eyes that he couldn't quite place. His heart was pounding with sorrow at the look in the boy's eyes. It was so lifeless. So unlike his beloved prince. The brunette set the books on the nightstand and turned to Johan with the same small smile.

"I'm thankful that you are doing all of this for me, Johan," Judai said.

That almost instantly broke Johan's heart.

He knew that Judai could not feel thankful. He knew that the brunette could feel nothing. As if the vacant smiles weren't enough. Johan tried his hardest not to cry in front of the brunette. He knew that Judai would feel bad once his got his heart back that Johan's heart had been hurt so horribly during all of this.

Johan faked a smile and looked into Judai's brown eyes. "I'm glad, Judai," he whispered. Judai smiled at him with the same smile and turned towards his bed.

Once Judai was turned away, Johan let a single tear come from his eye. He rubbed it away as quickly as he could. Judai turned back to the bluenette and sat on is own bed.

Johan turned towards the door and paused. He turned back to his bed and fished underneath it. His hand wrapped around the sheath of his sword, and he dragged the sword out from underneath the bed. He pulled the sword to his side, and then he changed out of his North Academy uniform and replaced it with his warrior's clothing.

When he finished dressing, Johan noticed that Judai was staring at him. The bluenette felt embarrassed that Judai had seen his changing (he had kept his boxers on), but Judai wasn't even smiling. He was just staring ahead.

Johan frowned and tried to keep his sorrow from being known. He could not let Judai know that he was hurting worse than the brunette was over all of this. It would break Judai's heart for a second time when Judai got it all back.

"Judai," Johan called. The brunette slowly glanced over towards him. "I'm going to get your heart shard back. Please just stay here and wait for me to bring it back to you."

Judai nodded and gave Johan another vacant smile. "Yes, Johan," he whispered. "I'll be waiting for you right here. Good luck with getting my heart shard back."

"Yes," Johan answered.

He didn't give Judai another look as he opened the door and went out of the room. He closed the door behind himself and just looked down at the ground for the longest time. His heart was pounding violently, and he thought he was going to start crying, but he knew that if he got this heart shard, then they would be one step closer to retrieving Judai's heart.

Johan stood straight and headed for the forests, where he knew Edo was.

**Break! Away from everybody  
Break! Away from everything  
If you can't stand the way this place is  
Take! Yourself! To higher places!**

**At night I feel like a vampire  
It's not right but I just can't give it up  
I'll try to get myself higher  
Let's go! We're gonna light it up**

When Johan found Edo a few moments later, the silverette was pacing around the clearing deep in the forests. His fists were clenched, and his blue eyes were narrowed. He had his teeth grit, and Johan could still see the deep purple aura from Judai's heart shard that was possessing him around his body.

The warrior stepped forward, knowing that Edo could not see him. He wondered where the emotion was, whether or not it was directly possessing Edo or doing it from a slight distance. He couldn't hear the shard tracker pinging anymore, since he had already located the person who was possessed by the shard.

Johan stepped forward and pushed his cape over his shoulder.

"Edo Phoenix!" he shouted.

The silverette stopped pacing and cast a glare in Johan's direction. _If looks could kill. _Johan shivered slightly at the glare on the boy's face. Edo raised his fist into the air and shook it at Johan.

"Who the fuck are you!?" he roared.

Johan chose not to answer right away. He was surprised that Edo didn't recognize him, but he did mess his hair up with gel and he did seem a bit different in the warrior clothes that he wore.

"Answer me or face my wrath!!" Edo snapped angrily.

_So that's what emotion that is. Wrath_, Johan noted to himself. He drew his sword and aimed it at Edo. The silverette didn't even seem to flinch at the fact that a sword had been turned on him.

"I have come to steal the Wrath from you," Johan murmured.

Edo stared blankly and narrowed his eyes. The bluenette warrior noticed that the dark purple aura around the boy seemed to grow slightly. The intensity in his glare stretched across the ground and reached for the warrior.

"Bring it on," Edo snapped.

Johan rushed the boy with the sword, just trying to scare him rather than hurt him. He swung the sword close to Edo, but the silverette threw his arm forward, trying to intercept the sword attack. The bluenette dragged the sword back, to keep from slicing off Edo's arm. Edo took the chance to swing his leg forward and kick out at Johan.

The warrior dodged the kick and skidded back. He dug his heels into the ground to keep from flying too far back. He immediately rushed Edo once again when he gained stability.

The possessed boy gripped his fists, the aura growing, and rushed Johan, throwing his fists at him. Edo's fist hit the hilt of the sword, managing to push it backwards. Johan groaned to himself and locked eyes with the silverette. He noticed the purple aura was reflecting off the boy's irises, turning them a deep navy color.

_Wrath is making him stronger_, Johan noted.

The warrior stepped back a bit, trying to avoid as many of Edo's swings as he could. Edo kept on rushing him, punching him, and Johan was holding back on his attacks. He knew that he could take the boy if he fought at his full strength, but he would risk hurting the boy. He did not want to risk hurting Edo even slightly.

Edo threw one punch to Johan's gut that hit and knocked the wind out of the warrior.

Johan then realized that he was going to have to resort to actually trying to hurt Edo. The silverette just kept coming at him with faster and faster swings, and if Johan did nothing, he was going to end up getting hurt.

The bluenette swung his sword forward and managed to slam the dull edge against Edo's arm. The silverette dragged his arm back and let his hand limply by his side. Johan hadn't wounded him horribly, but he had done it enough to make sure that Edo wouldn't be moving his arm for a few minutes.

Johan took the chance to raise his sword up and smash the hilt against the silverette's head.

Edo's eyes widened, rolled into the back of his head, and he collapsed like a ton of bricks to the ground with a groan. Johan was by his side in an instant, feeling for a heart beat.

He felt a pulse, and he knew that Edo would be fine as soon as he woke up, which would be in about ten minutes or so. The bluenette knew that Edo would probably not remember anything that had happened when he was possessed by the heart shard, so there was no worry about him finding out their secret.

As soon as he hit the ground, the purple aura seemed to rise from him. Johan stepped back a few inches and watched as the glow transformed into a shape that he knew.

The glow turned into the appearance of a lovely young man with brown hair that was long in the front and short in the back. His eyes were as lovely as Johan remembered, so full of emotion and life, unlike they were now. Around his head was a circlet/crown that rested sloppily to the side, as if a simple jerk of the head could knock it off.

The boy was clothed in the same noble outfit that Judai always wore when he was a prince. The prince's long-sleeve top with bronze trim with white pants and boots to go with it.

But there was one big difference.

This version of the boy was surrounded with a deep purple glow, and the shirt he wore was bright purple with bronze trim. The glow around him tinted his translucent skin, hair, and body purple. His purple-brown translucent eyes glanced up and locked with Johan. If Johan did not know any better, he would have thought this boy was a ghost.

_I found one. Judai's heart shard_, Johan thought.

**Tonight we start the fire  
Tonight we break away**

**Break! Away from everybody  
Break! Away from everything  
If you can't stand the way this place is  
Take! Yourself! To higher places!**

The heart shard glanced up at the sky, and then back down to Johan. Johan noticed that he did not move no matter what happened. The wind that rustled did nothing to him, it didn't even ruffle his hair. There was such a long and suffocating silence that Johan thought he would go mad if it lasted any longer.

"_I am... the feeling of Wrath_," the heart shard said after a moment. "_The emotion of utter revenge and anger that one feels towards those who oppose and harm them or those they love_."

Johan gave a nod and reached for the shard's hand. "Come along," he said. "We must return you to Judai."

Wrath hesitated and looked down at Johan's hand. His glazed eyes scanned it over and over, and yet he would not take it. Johan heard Edo groan softly in his unconscious state.

"Come," Johan said, a bit more firmly.

"_No_," Wrath shook his head slowly from side to side. He took a small step back. "_I do not want to go. I'm not important, so I can live my life out and be important this way. I like my freedom. I like having a purpose_."

Johan frowned. "But you are important! Without you, Judai's heart won't be complete!"

Wrath didn't respond right away. He just kept staring at Johan for the longest time. Johan felt weak under the heart shard's gaze. It had been so long since he had seen Judai with emotion in his eyes, even if this was not really Judai. He knew that it was a heart shard, but in a way, it was technically Judai. Or rather, a part of him.

"_Judai was... a good child_," Wrath whispered. "_Judai never felt anything like wrath, nor much anger, for that matter. He was always smiling, and wa shardly ever vengeful. Therefore, he does not need me_."

"You're wrong!" Johan said. He reached his hand forward. "Judai needs all of his heart in order to be complete! If he's missing so much as one single piece, he won't be the same! So what if he never felt you? You helped make up who Judai was! Without you, Judai won't be the same ever again! He'll be someone else, not the Judai that we all love!"

Wrath had no comment. He couldn't even speak. He just stared at Johan for a countless amount of moments. Johan cast a glance down at Edo, who looked like he was going to awaken shortly.

The bluenette looked back up and hoped that the heart shard would choose to go with him. Wrath looked like he was deep in thought. A moment later, he gave a sigh.

"_I have no idea I was so important_," he murmured.

The heart shard looked up slowly and locked eyes with Johan. Johan almost started crying again at the emotion in his eyes. The heart shard was the mirror image of Judai, and therefore, it was almost like seeing Judai with his emotions.

"_All right_," Wrath whispered.

Wrath reached forward and locked hands with Johan. The bluenette saw him turn into light particles and form into a tiny gem in the palm of his hand. It was a tiny amethyst, pulsating softly, like a mini heart.

Johan shivered and clutched the shard close to his own heart. The soft, familiar beating brought tears to the corners of his eyes. He let a few tears slip through his closed eyes as he gave a soft chuckle. He opened his eyes and looked down at the gem in his hand, reflecting a purple light onto his face.

"I found it. One of Judai's heart shards," he whispered.

With that, Johan turned on his heel and rushed to the dorms, just as Edo woke up. Johan heard Edo murmuring that he could have sworn there was someone there with him earlier, but that was good enough for him.

Johan rushed immediately to the dorms and rushed right up to his and Judai's room. The bluenette pushed the door open and was greeted with the sight of seeing Judai sitting on his bed, holding his cards out in front of him. The brunette looked busy studying, but Johan noticed that he was not fully focused on it.

"Judai," Johan whispered.

Judai glanced up and locked eyes with the bluenette. Johan walked forward before Judai could greet him. He stuck his hand forward and sat on the edge of Judai's bed.

Judai looked down at the gem in Johan's hand. He looked interested, his eyes slightly wide. Johan smiled and placed his fingers under the brunette's chin and lifted it up so that Judai had his eyes locked with Johan's.

"This... is one of your heart shards," Johan whispered.

Judai looked up and smiled the same vacant smile at Johan. Before Judai could say anything, Johan pressed his hand forward and placed the gem against where Judai's heart was supposed to be.

The gem glew bright purple as it vanished into Judai's chest. Judai's eyes widened as he was surrounded by a warm sensation. The gem fused with his body, and Judai pitched forward.

Johan caught the brunette as he fell, eyes wide with shock. "Judai!" Johan called. He glanced down and heard Judai breathing, and he smiled in relief. The bluenette held Judai as close as he could get him. His fingers flew to Judai's throat, where he tried to feel the brunette's pulse countless times before.

Johan's eyes widened and filled with tears of joy.

Under his fingertips, he could feel a faint fluttering. It was small, barely noticeable, but it was there. Judai had a pulse. Judai had a heart. Judai was one step closer to getting his heart back.

Johan chuckled softly, letting a few streams of tears leak from his eyes. He closed his eyes and held Judai as close as he could resting his head near Judai's throat, where he could hear the boy's heart fluttering gently. He knew that he was going to get the boy his heart back. The bluenette soon fell asleep with Judai, still holding him, lulled to sleep by the weak fluttering of his heart.

**If you can't stand the way this place is  
Take! Yourself! To higher places!  
Break! Away from everybody  
Break! Away from everything  
If you can't stand the way this place is  
Take! Yourself! To higher places!  
Higher places!  
To higher places!  
Higher places!  
Take yourself to higher places!**

----

Me: Yes! Johan managed to get one of Judai's heart shards back! And only normal people get overtaken by the emotion. Judai just has the ability to feel it whenever he pleases, like we do, so he will not be like Edo was!

Lucy: Now Judai only has 11 heart shards left before he manages to get all of his heart back! Johan, we have faith in you! Do your best and get back your secret love's heart!

Me: The next chapter, and next emotion, is "_Pride_"! Who will it possess?

Lucy: Read on to find out! Please review!


	4. Pride Part I

**Title**: Break

**Genre**: romance, humor

**Rating**: T for language, mild violence, and some sexual themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai; slight RyoXEdo; slight JimXKenzan; and very slight ManjoumeXShou

**Song**: "_Break_" by Three Days Grace

**Summary**: Johan is a young warrior who goes to Duel Academy, but the only reason he's there is to protect Judai! But Judai isn't your average duelist. He's the royal heir to the Dark World throne whose "heart" was removed by a demon and shattered into twelve different pieces! Can Johan, with the help of his and Judai's friends, collect all of the pieces of Judai's heart before the emotions hurt someone in Duel Academy? And can they defeat the single emotion that wants Judai dead?

Me: All right, guys! This is the third chapter in the story!

Lucy: Johan has found one of Judai's heart shards, and there are 11 more out there to be discovered! Will our beloved Johan manage to get them all back for his darling prince?

Me: Read on if you wish to find out, guys!

**_Chapter Three: Pride Part I_**

"Wow," Johan waved the heart shard tracker around. "I can't believe this."

He had been wandering around the island for about threee hours now, and so far, the heart shard tracker hadn't even twitched. It was as silent as silent could be.

Johan reached up and brushed his bangs out of his eyes.

"God, is it too much to ask for this stupid thing to go off?" he asked aloud. He was starting to get angry. "Come on, you stupid piece of junk! Judai needs his heart back, ASAP!"

If the heart shard tracker heard him, it didn't make any motion. Johan growled silently to himself and shoved the small device into his pocket. He would come back to trying to get it to work later.

Johan turned and looked to the blue skies.

_Blue skies, clear water, almost no clouds_, he let his thoughts wander as he took in his surroundings. _These are things that we never saw much of in the Dark World._

Now that Johan really thought about it, this world was so different from the one that he had come to call home.

This world had so many wonders; babbling brooks made of crystal clear water, bright green grass that glistened like gold with the glittering light from the sun, and clear blue skies that looked as if they had never held a single storm cloud before. They were so new to Johan that when he woke up, he would often have to wonder if he was back in the Dark World and that this world was just a dream.

Johan heaved a heavy sigh and sat down by one of the creeks.

"This is impossible," he muttered to himself. "Why is this so hard? No, why did this _happen_?"

He recalled what happened when Judai's heart had been shattered that fateful day back at the Dark World. He remember how sad he had been when he knew that Judai could no longer remember any of his feelings or any of the things they had done together.

Their friendship, their good times, their bad times, which there was only one of and it involved Johan comforting Judai after the death of a family member, their-

Johan stopped.

What _did_ Judai feel about him?

Johan knew that Judai cared about him somewhat. Judai always blushed around him. Judai was always being kind to him, hugging him, saying things that sounded so sweet, but did any of it mean anything?

Were they just friends?

Something more?

"Geez," Johan stopped and heaved a heavy sigh. "I wish I could just find Judai's heart all in one place and return it so I could ask Judai myself. He wouldn't be able to answer me the way he is now."

The bluenette folded his arms across his chest and realized that there was no point in trying to think about it right now. He wasn't going to find any heart shards right now.

"I should get back to Judai and practice dueling with him," Johan said to himself. "He's getting really good."

With that, Johan turned on his heel and headed off to the Obelisk dorms, where he knew that Judai was probably sitting in the window, wondering where he was.

**Tonight my head is spinning  
I need something to pick me up  
I've tried but nothing is working  
I won't stop, I won't say I've had enough**

**Tonight I start the fire  
Tonight I break away**

Johan glanced up and saw Judai focused seriously on their duel. They were sitting cross-legged on Johan's bed, and Judai was holding his five cards in front of his face, scanning over them quickly.

"Say, Johan," Judai murmured.

"Yeah, Judai?" Johan asked, putting their game on pause and listening intently.

Judai slowly put his hand down on the bed and let the five cards slip onto the covers. Johan saw that Judai had in his hand two Elemental Heroes, Winged Kuriboh, and two trap cards that Judai probably couldn't have used. The brunette started fumbling around with the hem of his Osiris red jacket, as someone would do if they were nervous.

But that wasn't possible, Johan knew. Judai didn't have that emotion back in his heart yet. He didn't even know what being nervous was, so there was no way for him to feel it.

"It's about... getting my heart back," Judai said.

Johan put his hand down on the bed as well and folded his arms across his knees. "What's bothering you, Judai?" he asked. The brunette bit his lower lip and chewed it. "You can tell me."

"Johan, what was I like before I lost my heart?" Judai asked.

Johan blinked in confusion, as if wanting the brunette to continue to explain it a bit more. Judai sighed a little and folded his arms around his knees and curled them up to his chin.

"I remember everything, but I don't feel anything towards it. Johan, it... feels unpleasant," the brunette whispered.

Johan frowned. "Judai."

Judai shook his head a little. "I want my heart back, Johan. I want to know what it is I feel for you, Johan. What I felt like before all of this," he whispered, even softer than before.

"Judai," the bluenette leaned forward and rested his hands on top of Judai's. "I promise I will get your heart back, no matter what. So there is no need to worry, okay?"

Judai glanced up at Johan and nodded. "Okay."

The brunette glanced down at his hand for a moment and said nothing. Johan started to get a bit worried, especially when Judai lifted his hand to his chest and frowned.

"My chest feels heavier, Johan," he murmured.

Johan allowed himself to relax and gave Judai a reassuring smile. "That's because you're carrying part of your heart now, Judai," he said. "Don't worry. I'll collect the rest as soon as possible, okay?"

"Okay," Judai said.

Johan smiled and stroked a piece of hair out of Judai's face. "Good," he said. "Now, I'm going to head to class. You still seem a bit weak from getting a shard of your heart back, so please just stay here and wait for me."

Again, Judai nodded. "Okay."

"Good," Johan said with a slight bow. He rose off the bed and made his way towards the door. After stealing one last look at Judai, who was still messing around with the cards, Johan exited the room and shut the door behind him.

**Break! Away from everybody  
Break! Away from everything  
If you can't stand the way this place is  
Take! Yourself! To higher places!**

**At night I feel like a vampire  
It's not right but I just can't give it up  
I'll try to get myself higher  
Let's go! We're gonna light it up**

Johan should have known something was wrong the moment he stepped into the gardens outside Duel Academy.

Johan had been racing around the school grounds looking for Jim and O'Brien. He had a bad feeling for some unknown reason, and he didn't want something to happen to his friends.

As he rounded the corner, Johan was caught with a bizarre sight that nearly stopped his heart.

His teacher, Mr. Cronos de Mediz.

Not that the sight of his, um, very feminine male teacher was strange, oh no. It was the action that he was doing that Johan thought was both very strange and bizarre.

Cronos was stomping on the flowers in the gardens around the entire school.

Now, normally, Johan would have thought this as just mean, rather than strange, but the way he was doing it. And what was his motive? Johan recalled that yesterday, Cronos had been marvelling the beautiful flowers around the school, which he and the teachers spent so long planting so the school could have some beauty around it.

Johan stopped and decided to watch for a moment.

He gasped as he suddenly heard a loud beeping noise, and he covered his mouth, as to keep the gasp unknown to Cronos. Cronos obviously didn't hear, since he didn't stop his murder of the poor plants.

Johan reached into his pocket and pried out the heart-shard tracker. The gem in the center was flashing a bright navy color, and flashed brighter when Johan turned it towards Cronos.

_D-don't tell me_, Johan thought._ He's possessed by a heart shard!_

Johan thought he saw Cronos smirking and laughing evilly as his heel came down on yet another plant.

Johan glanced up at his teacher and decided to assist the plants. He cleared his throat. "Ah, Mr. C?" he yelled, causing the teacher to stop his squishing of the helpless plants.

Cronos seemed to snap out of it and looked over at Johan.

"Hm? Andersen? Can I help you with something?" he asked in a simple voice, as if nothing was wrong.

Johan laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head before opening his mouth to ask a question of the teacher. "Uh.... Have you been, um, feeling anything different, recently?" he asked nervously.

Cronos paused and thought for a moment. "Actually, I have been feeling a bit, um, better about myself lately, if you truly must know," he said, looking down at the flowers. "That's why these things need to be destroyed! You see, Andersen, these flowers are perfect. They take away from the beauty of humans, and that's why, what with my pride as a human being, I must kill anything that opposes us and puts our natural beauty beneath it."

Seeing no reason to continue the conversation, Cronos turned and headed into class.

Johan glanced down at the smooshed flowers and went down near them. He scooped one up in his palm and frowned when he saw how the wind let it flutter so lifelessly in his palm.

Johan turned and glanced after Cronos, who he now noticed was glowing a very strange color.

His aura now had a navy tint to it, as Johan noticed.

The bluenette clenched his fist and narrowed his emerald eyes again. "Let the games begin, Professor!" Johan whispered. "I'm going to steal that heart shard away from you."

**Tonight we start the fire  
Tonight we break away**

**Break! Away from everybody  
Break! Away from everything  
If you can't stand the way this place is  
Take! Yourself! To higher places!**

"Eh? Johan, you found another heart shard already?"

Johan nodded and turned to look at Judai. As soon as school ended, Johan had rushed back to the dorms. He had been monitering Cronos all day, and was now 100 percent certain that his teacher was being possessed by one of the heart shards.

"Yeah," Johan said, grabbing his sword off the ground. "I did."

Judai sat on the edge of the bed, playing with the hem on his Osiris jacket yet again, a habit he had developed. "So you did. Was it in class today? Who has it?" he asked.

Johan turned and noticed that Judai seemed a little... off.

He seemed almost like he was incredibly freaked out by something. But Johan knew this could not be true. Judai didn't know Fear. He couldn't be afraid of anything right now. And still, even knowing that, Johan could help but notice how worried and frightened Judai looked. It was almost as if he knew something that Johan didn't.

Johan clasped his blue cape to his armor and turned to Judai. "What's wrong?"

Judai glanced up and shook his head. "I-" he stopped and cleared his throat. "-have no idea what you're talking about, Johan. Nothing's wrong with me today. It's nothing, don't worry."

Johan wasn't convinced.

He knew that something must have been bothering Judai. But, since Judai didn't have enough emotion to be able to tell Johan what was bothering him, Johan let it slide.

"I'll be back with your heart shard soon, Judai," he said.

Judai nodded and sat down on the bed with a small sigh. "I'll be waiting, Johan," he said, giving Johan that same vacant smile. Johan frowned. He hated that vacant smile. It wasn't Judai's.

Saying nothing else, Johan turned and left the room.

As he vanished down the hallway to head into the classroom to get the heart shard from Cronos, Johan didn't notice the person standing far off in the forests, watching his movements.

The heart-shard tracker didn't pick it up either.

**If you can't stand the way this place is  
Take! Yourself! To higher places!  
Break! Away from everybody  
Break! Away from everything  
If you can't stand the way this place is  
Take! Yourself! To higher places!  
Higher places!  
To higher places!  
Higher places!  
Take yourself to higher places!**

* * *

Me: Okay! So, it is Cronos who has the new emotion, Pride! And who is the person watching Johan?

Lucy: How will Johan manage to get the emotion away from him, and the other question is, who shall be the next one possessed by an emotion, and which emotion shall it be?

Me: Take your guesses, guys! Take your guesses!

Lucy: Please review and we shall update ASAP, guys!


End file.
